Marking tag



March 5, 1940.

MARKING TAG Filed Jan. 18, 1940 INVENTOR ATToR H. M. cARLs roN 2,192,514

Patented ans, 1940 UNITED STATES fPATEN'I'gOFFICE; I j 25192514 I v i MARKING TAG Horace M. Carleton, New York, N. Y. Application January is, 1940,'Serial -No. 314,414

5 Claims. 401-2) The present invention relates to marking tags, for example to markers such asgarden labels, or thelike.

An object of the invention is to provide a marking tag having a relatively fiat marking surface that can be written on with pencil, the writing being readily removable by means of an ordinary pencil-eraser but remaining p'erfectly legible though left outdoors and subjectedto the weather, for example in a garden *over along period oftime.

Anot'he'r'object is to provide such amarker-of bendable, resilient material-such thatit can be readily distorted to the extent that will hereinafter appear, within its elastic limit so that it has pronounced tendency to return to its normal fiat shape.

A further object is to provide for the writing surface member a normally-rigid but readily bendable wire support preferably of non-resilient, non-corrodible material, so formed and shaped that it cooperates with the writing surface por- .tionof the marker. as to position the marker on its support and hold it there against accidental displacement in either direction along the wire and also against turning on 'the wire. Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following descrip-- Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same parts but showing them in the position they occupy just before the writing portion or" the marker reaches its final position at the upper end of the wire;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation on a smaller scale showing the wire support with a few slight bends in it; i Fig. 5 shows the marker of Fig. 1 with a different type of bend in the wire support;

Fig. 6 illustrates how the wire support of the 'marker may be bent around a shrub or tree branch; and v Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the writing surface portion of the marker in which the openings for the wire are defined in part by straight edges.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the writing surface portion I I of the marker may conveniently be a normally-fiat, rectangularly-shaped piece of sheet material having a writing surface [3 suitable for markingv with an ordinary pencil.

Specifically, it may be formed of any suitable cellulose ester plastic material having a sumciently mat surface and sufficiently resilient to.

ings l5, l5 through'which the wire support l8.

may be inserted, the parts being frictionally slidable with respect to each otheruntil the 'marking portion of the tagv reaches the head end of the wire. I

The drawing shows two such openings providedfor this purpose and-in the form'shown in Fig- 1 each opening l5, I5 is circular and sufiicien'tly greater in diameter than the wire itself t'o-a'llow thewriting portion of the'marker to occupy the position of Fig. 3 as it is being slid along the wire and the position of Fig. 2 when it reaches the head" endof the wire.

At its :head end the wire is flattened as at 20,,

theiwidth of this flattened portion-being greater than the diameterof the openings 15', I5 so -that the flattened end 2!] acts as an end stopfor the writing portion of the marker at the head end. of the wire.

In the operation of flattening the head end of the wire for the purpose described, a pair of flattened shoulders 22, 22 are formed, on the wire just below the flattenedhead. Thesejserve as abutment shoulders on the wire body to position the writing portion of the marker at the head end of the wire and prevent it from sliding down the wire to the position of Fig. 3 after it has once reached the position shown in Fig. 2.

The tendency of the writing portion of the marker to return to its fiat condition from the distorted position of Fig. 3 causes it to snap over one of the shoulders 22,22 until the edge of the upper opening l5 contacts the base ofthe enlarged flattened head 2|].

From thev position of Fig. 2the' writing portion of themarker can readily be slid down the. wire and the wire removed from it by intentionally distorting the portion II but in the absence of. such distortion the abutment shoulder prevents the marking portion H from sliding down the vrire l8..

The flattened head end of the wire being wider than the opening l5, and being preferably fiat as shown, cooperates with the upper surface of the marking portion 1! just above the opening I5, as indicated in Fig. 1; to resist rotation of the writing portion II on the wire l8, the flattened head end 20 being wide enough to cause increased distortion of the upper part of the writing portion ll if the writing portion is rotated on a wire.

The wire I8 is preferably formed of non-corrodible material readily bendable and havin substantially no resistance, such, for example, as half hard aluminum wire. Such wire is readily bendable into any desired shape such as that shown in Fig. 4, for example, or in Fig. 5 where the upper part of the wire is bent over to present more readily to view the written designationon the writing surface portion. In Fig. 6 the wire is shown as wrapped around a twig, branch or shrub.

In Fig. 7 the holes provided in the writing portion to receive the wire support are shown as having flattened edges it to conform more nearly with the flat or relatively flat shoulders 22, 22';

It will be noted that the lower end of the wire l8 can be readily inserted through the holes provided for it and that the construction is such that it is immaterial which end of the markin portion H is at the top or whether the shoulder 22 or the shoulder 22 is at one'side or the other of the marking surface. It will also be understood that the writing surface portion H preferably has both faces identical so that either may be used for writing.

What is claimed is:

,1. A marking tagco'mprising a relatively flat resilient member having a marking surface and having openings to receive a wire support, and a, wire support passing through said openings and having a head adjacentgand a shoulder within one of said openings, said head having a width greater than the diameter of the opening and cooperating with the shoulder to position the resilient marking member on the wire.

2. A marking tag comprising a relatively flat resilient member having a marking surface and having openings to receive a wire support, and a wire support passing through said openings and having a flattened end adjacent one of them providing a shoulder on the wire body for abutment with the edge of said opening, the flattened wire end being wider than its adjacent opening and cooperating with said shoulder to position the resilient marking member on the wire.

3. A marking tag comprising a relatively flat resilient member having a marking surface and having openings to receive a wire support, and a wire support passing through said openings and having a flattened head end Wider than either opening and having opposite faces substantially aligning withthe marking surface, said flattened head end providing abutment shoulders on the wire body cooperating with an opening edge. to hold the resilient marking member at the head end of the wire.

4. A marking tag comprising a relatively flat resilient member having a marking surface and having openings toreceive a wire support, and a wire support passing through said openings and having a flattened head end wider than either opening and having opposite faces substantially aligning with the marking surface, said flattened head end providing abutment shoulders on the wire body cooperating with an opening edge to hold the resilient marking member at the head end of the wire, each of said openings having a substantially straight edge defining-it for such shoulder abutment.

thereby resisting rotational movement of said member on the wire, said flattened head end providing abutment shoulders on the wire body cooperating with an opening edge to hold the resilient marking member at the head end. of

the wire.

HORACE M. .CARLETON. 

